An American WereMare in Ponyville
by Mr. Chaos
Summary: Twilight and her friends are asked to help set up a big event for the local museum. But each night their work is destroyed...and ponies begin reporting sightings of a monster, larger than any pony and filled with hate: a Were-Mare. As the girls investigate it becomes clear that one of them may be the monster...how will they save one of their own from the terrible curse?


Author's Notes: First and foremost...I must warn all of you that I am not a brony. This idea popped into my head based on the episodes I have seen and I needed to write it and I am hoping it gets a good reaction. Still, if there are mistakes I want you to PLEASE let me know so I correct them. Also, if I am doing something right, please let me know as well. I love reading reviews and they are what keep me writing.

Second, do not worry if you have been reading "How Do You Shoot A Gun With Hooves?". I just finished writing the final chapter (there will be about 10 or so) so I am beginning this with that story already done. That said, there will be a few minor references to that story in here, but nothing spoilery and nothing requiring to actually read the crossover.

Finally, if you have any suggestions, thoughts, or ideas, send them. i try to respond to every review and I also tend to give people extra info and goodies when they do.

Now...on with the story!

* * *

"Come on Twilight, it's the weekend! You know what that means, right?"

Twilight Sparkle glanced over as Spike, the baby dragon half sitting, half lying on her back. His eyes were nearly shut and if weren't for the occasional bounce in her step he would have fallen asleep the moment they left the library.

"Of course I do, Spike!" Twilight shook her head in good humor at her assistant's question. "The weekend is the two days that represent the ends of the week: Saturday and Sunday. Everyone knows that."

"No, I mean do you know what weekends are for?"

"Same as every day," Twilight said simply. "I really don't understand why you have this notion that there is some magical spell that makes weekends no longer ideal for working. Trust me, I triple checked and found not a single 'no work' spell."

"Of course you did," Spike complained, snuggling into Twilight a bit more. "Today is Saturday, Twilight, as in SAT on UR butt DAY, not wake-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn-day and go do work."

"...wouldn't it be called Satonurbuttday then?" Twilight chuckled at her joke and continued down the path that led into Ponyville. "Come on Spike, you have to admit that was funny." The dragon gave no answer. "Spike?"

"zzzzzz."

"Spike!"

"Cobras!" Spike shouted as he snapped awake.

"Cobras?" Twilight asked.

"Don't ask."

The unicorn rolled her eyes at her assistant's antics. She never quite understood why he, and for that many so many ponies, wanted to waste their time sitting around doing nothing when there were so many amazing things to see and do and learn. In the time that it had taken Spike to roll out of his basket and make it down the stairs Twilight had read a chapter from _The Theory of Elemental Transmutation,_ double check her schedule to make sure her day was fully planned, do some quick dusting and put away several scrolls she had never gotten around to filing the night before.

For her, life was meant to be crammed full till it seemed ready to burst...then you rearranged things and tried to get more in. Yes, it did mean that one had little time when the unexpected happened, and it was true that Twilight...occasionally had what her friends had called full mental breakdowns...but it was worth it! So what if she spent a week worrying about the end of Ponyville only to find out the only danger was worrying too much? And that little riot she had caused...it wasn't as if anyone was _seriously _injured.

It was all worth it in the end if she could prove that she was the best student in all of Equestria...right?

"Sure," Twilight muttered to herself, "there are times that I wish I could just sit down and stare at a wall thinking about nothing. And maybe I would like to have a day every so often when I wasn't worried about learning 10 new things and I stopped to smell the roses instead of old musky books..." She shook her head in annoyance. "But there are too many people relying upon me! What would they think if I just decided to lie about and nap and read the latest Filly Heat novel and..." Twilight closed her eyes, humming to herself, "...just ate an entire box of double chocolate cookies..."

Suddenly the road seemed much too long and all Twilight wanted to do was go racing back to her home and tell Spike to find something to do for the day while she took a 'Twilight Day'.

She didn't, of course. Because she was Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Sparkle did not stop!

Ever.

"So...what exactly are we doing instead of sleeping?" Spike asked, finally deciding that it was useless to try and get some shuteye.

Twilight shook herself from her thoughts and focused on the task that awaited them in town. "Mr. Piles asked us to meet him at the museum. He wants to talk to us about some secret project."

"Maybe it will be an exhibit of beds throughout history," Spike let out a yawn, "and he wants us to test them all out."

"Keep dreaming, Spike."

"I was dreaming until you woke me up!" Spike complained.

The rest of their trip was relatively quiet. They ran into the occasional pony (or, in the case of local mailpony Derpy, avoided her crash landing) and gave quick hellos, but otherwise the streets were quiet.

At least until they got within 10 yards of the museum.

"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie Pie squealed, tackling them and sending all three of them tumbling end over end. "How ya doing?"

"Well, I was good until you tackled me." Twilight tried to remain calm, reminding herself that Pinkie was just being Pinkie and couldn't be blamed for her actions. The pink pony was just so hyper and cheerful that she didn't see that sometimes her actions went a bit beyond the norm.

"Sorry, I just wanted to try that out! I read this cool book to Pumpkin and Pound Cake yesterday about a talking teddy bear and a stuffed tiger and the tiger was always tackling the bear to say hello and it sounded fun! You know what was also fun? The bear got stuck in a hole and they drew a smiley face on his bottom! I asked Applejack if I could do that but she said everyone was too busy to draw faces on me. Are you too busy, Twilight?'

"...yup, way too busy. Maybe next time."

Pinkie gave her a stern look before her face burst into a smile. "Okie dokie loki!" She jumped off of Twilight, bouncing up and down as she waited for the unicorn to stand up. "Spike, you look awfully thin today!" Pinkie poked at the smushed baby dragon who was currently laying on the ground in a daze. "That must be some diet you are on! You could make millions!"

"Cobras...cobras..." Spike whimpered.

"Cobras?" Applejack asked, walking up to Twilight.

"Ignore him," Twilight said, using her magic to lift Spike up and place him down on her back. She walked with them to the doors of the museum, where Fluttershy and Rarity were quietly talking.

"I am telling you, I think you would look marvelous in one of my new hats!"

"I don't know," Fluttershy said softly, looking at Rarity with from half lidded eyes. "Don't you think it'd be a bit...bold?"

The fashion designer laughed. "Of course it is, Fluttershy! That is the whole point! Don't you sometimes want to be a bit bold?"

"Uh...no..." the pegasus said meekly. She looked up, smiling when she saw the three other ponies walk up. "Oh, hi Twilight."

"Hi Fluttershy, hi Rarity."

"Why hello-"

"Hello Rarity," Spike said, hopping down from Twilight's back and looking none the worse for wear. "How are you this morning?"

"Quite well, my little Spikey-wikey." Rarity patted the baby dragon on the head before giving her mane a quick bob. "I must say, I normally abhor waking up so early but this morning light is doing wonders from my skin tones."

"Oh yeah!" Spike said quickly in agreement. "Normally I hate getting up but today I was just full of energy." Twilight gave him a sour look but Spike ignored her. "So, is everyone here?"

"Not Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, looking around for the colorful pegasus.

"Ya she is, Twi," Applejack said, pointing up. Twilight glance above her to find a low hanging cloud, upon which snoozed the weather-monitoring pegasus. "Hey RD, time to get up!"

Rainbow Dash waved off the order and turned onto her side. "Five more minutes."

"Wish I'd thought of that," Spike complained.

Rarity and Twilight shared a look. "You or me, my dear?"

Twilight waved her hoof at Rarity. "By all means, be my guest." The group watched as Rarity used her magic to lift Rainbow Dash's form up off the cloud, then let her go.

"AAAA!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she plummeted, only to catch herself a foot from the ground. "Very funny!" she complained as her friends laughed.

"Yeah, it was funny!" Pinkie Pie giggled. "You were all 'zzzz', and Rarity went 'bzzzz' and then you went 'aaaaa!' and we went 'hahahahaha!' and you said 'very funny' and I said 'yeah, because you were all 'zzzz', and Rarity-'"

"Oh no, she's stuck in a loop!" Rarity said in a panic.

"I got it," Applejack said, taking out her lasso and quickly using it to tie Pinkie's mouth shut. "Now then, I'll let you free once you get a hold of yourself, sugarcube."

"mmmrph murrr mpph!"

"I wish I had thought of that when dealing with Miss Summers," Dusty Piles, the museum curator, said as he approached the girls.

"I doubt Sunny Summers would have been stopped by a rope," Twilight said happily, remembering the slightly ditzy blonde pony from her days in Canterlot.

"Yes, I suppose so." Piles was a tan unicorn who held himself with a grace and bearing that would impress even the fussiest of Canterlot's elite. Back before his mane had begun to recede Piles had been a teacher at the magic school Twilight had gone to, teaching history to the eager young colts and fillies. Last year, he had been asked by Princess Celestia to create a traveling museum exhibit showcasing the history of Ponyville. When he had come to Ponyville Piles had fallen in love with the little town and, once the exhibit had completed his tour, applied to take over the Ponyville Museum as its new head and curator.

Even on the warm summer morning Piles was wearing his tweed jacket that stopped just short of covering his book-and-magnifying-glass cutie mark. The jacket held his various tools, pens and, of course, the polishing cloth for his glasses (which he was forever cleaning, his one nervous habit).

"I'm glad to see you are all here bright and early," Piles said, using his horn to unlock the door.

"Not by choice," Spike muttered under his breath.

Piles, if he did hear the young dragon, did not comment. He led the girls through the lobby, past the posters advertising the coming attractions and under the velvet rope the ran along the entrance to the first exhibit. Currently it was a display of art from different lands outside of Equestria; the girls paused for a moment, looking at paintings by griffon artists and sculptures made by the capricorn warriors of the Mareatine Sea. There was even a crudely drawn piece believed to be done by a Diamond Dog…or a baby pony (one couldn't be too sure).

Piles trotted past all of these and led them to a side wing, which was currently not being used. Dust clothes and empty easels greeted them as the girls all crowed into the room, Spike taking up the rear.

"Now then," Piles said, using his horn to bring several sheets over to him that had been placed on the only chair in the room, "I asked you all to come here because I am in need of some help."

Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up. "Ah yeah! Let me guess...you found some cursed artifact and now have summoned evil zombie mummies that we need to take down!"

"Mummies?" Fluttershy said, wings folding tightly against her body.

"Not quiet, Miss. Dash." Piles took out his polish cloth, levitating the glasses from his face and giving them a good once over. "You see, I have been talking to Miss Cherilee and we both decided that it would be rather delightful to start a monthly weekend event for all the colts and fillies in Ponyville. It would be a chance to get them interested in history and also be a way to promote the museum."

"That's a wonderful idea!" Twilight said.

"I was hoping you would think so, Twilight, because frankly I have realized that I am in a bit over my head. Several of our staff members have come down with a nasty cold and another is on maternity leave. All that's left is...well, me."

"Wow, Mr. Piles, you are runnin' everythin' by yourself?" Applejack asked.

"Well, the museum hasn't been that hard to run, truth be told, and I am having several of my former students come from Canterlot to help me in two weeks to help with the event…the problem is that with all my duties I simply don't have the time to actually set up such a large undertaking. I was hoping-"

There was a loud snap and rope fell to the ground as Pinkie rushed up to Piles, hugging his legs. "Oooh, let us help! Let us help!"

Rarity nodded in agreement. "Yes…I would love to help bring some culture to the young ponies of this town."

"Sounds like a good time!" Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Yeah…with us helping you ya know it is going to be…120% cooler."

"Don't you mean 20% cooler?" Spike asked.

"Nope…that's just how cool it will be." The pegasus crossed her legs across her chest and gave Spike a look that dared him to disagree.

When Fluttershy and Twilight both agreed to help Piles let out a sigh of utter relief. "I can't tell you how nervous I was that you would say no. Miss Cherilee is so excited about the event and I would hate to disappoint her." The museum curator began to pace, ticking off everything they would need to make the event a success. "Now, I have decided that this month's event will focus on famous ponytales and their historical background. I have gathered a lot of information, but I need someone to go over it and decide what we should use."

"Twilight would be perfect for that!" Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

"Wonderful! Now then, I will also need someone working that day to keep things moving. It will be hard work…the pony will be standing out in the sun, checking on different sections and helping me prepare for the larger events."

"I do believe Applejack would be the best one to handle that," Rarity stated. "She is so good at running Sweet Apple Acres that she will be able to keep all the different sections and activities going smoothly."

"Sure…I can do that," Applejack stated. "What else you have, Mr. Piles?"

"Well, I have most of the activities planned, but I would like to come up with an interactive game or story reading for the smaller fillies and colts. Something small and simple for the little ones, mind you."

Twilight nodded her head. "Fluttershy, I think that is all you!"

"And of course there will be the food…and I want us all to have uniforms…something simple but that will help the children identify us."

Fluttershy looked towards Rarity and Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie Pie is a great chef…and Rarity loves making clothing..."

"Very good…and lastly, I want to have some big, final, flashy sendoff. Something dazzling and…well, I guess you kids would call it 'cool'."

All the ponies turned to Rainbow Dash, not needing to even say her name.

"I think we are all squared away, Mr. Piles."

"Very good. Now, I will get you some more information and then let you be on your way. I want to meet with you all the Friday before the event to make sure we have everything settled, that way there are no surprises."

"I'll pencil you in," Twilight said, using her magic to grab a large bundle of papers that Piles had sitting near the door. "Well Spike, looks like we need to hurry back home…we have two weeks of research and studying ahead of us."

"….yay," Spike said drolly.


End file.
